“As the tools of production and distribution are democratized, institutions lose power and individuals gain it. As the Web becomes the greatest word-of-mouth amplifier in history, consumers learn to trust peers more and companies less.”

“It has been called the invention that will bring down global capitalism, start a second industrial revolution and save the environment – and it might just put Santa out of a job too.” Teh Grauniad discovers the RepRap project.

“Can we expect to find gas giants mixed with small terrestrial worlds around most Sun-like stars? And what about the smaller and far fainter red dwarfs?” Centauri Dreams thinking aloud about terrestrial exoplanets.

“My SteamPed started life as a Motobecane Moped which I obtained in a non running condition but with all the parts intact. I eventually want to build a steam car and decided this would be a good way to get my feet “dry” with steam land vehicles…”

“It’s an impressive game, simulating weaponry the military is actually using or building, gamers say. But the gameplay is designed so it’s hard to lose: The equipment holds up awfully well and the enemy doesn’t learn from experience.”

“Driving at nearly the speed of light? Impossible in real life, but feasible in a computer simulation: A tour through the city centre of Tübingen illustrates what we should see when moving at such a high speed.” Video relativity metaphor.

“When I started to make a list of all the promotional efforts I’ve made in the past year, I started to feel — well, a little embarrassed. To an outsider, it must look like I do nothing all day but come up with ways to move copies of Infoquake.”

“They can re-create the Seven Wonders of the World in a literal snap. But now they huddle in their model shop of Legoland California and contemplate the seemingly impossible: How in the rectangular heck do you give a Lego bride a Lego bosom?”

“Experts from London’s Metropolitan Police’s Homicide Prevention Unit are creating psychological profiles of likely offenders which will enable them to predict future patterns of behaviour.” Once again, life imitating PKD.

“For the first time researchers have been able to induce the growth of replacement teeth in mammals. Unlike other vertebrates, mammals normally lose the ability after they replace their milk teeth in infancy.” I hate dentists, you know.

“When the human body is suddenly exposed to the vacuum of space, a number of injuries begin to occur immediately. Though they are relatively minor at first, they accumulate rapidly into a life-threatening combination.”

“You can customize your warning label with all sorts of dire admonishments, in addition to a wide selection of cautionary stick figures.” A must for fellow fans of hazard symbols – or the easily amused.

“…anime and manga will do for the visual culture of this century what African-American music did for the musical culture of the last century: Provide idioms that are adopted everywhere and adapted for local use. I’ve now added graffiti to the list…”